Methamphetamine use is on the rise in all parts of the U.S. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, meth represents the fastest growing drug threat in America today. Methamphetamine is a highly potent form of speed. Just one hit can alter the brain’s chemistry, and, with extensive or continued use, can severely damage the cardiovascular and central nervous systems and impair the functioning of the heart, brain and central nervous system.
In America, methamphetamine is clinically recognized as the most destructive drug ever to take hold of the population. The take-up rate for heroin and crack cocaine after the second exposure is 20%, but the rate for meth is as high as 95%. Not only is meth highly addictive, it can bring out the worst in users, making their actions unpredictable and dangerous, not only to themselves but to bystanders as well. Methamphetamine can be lethal. This is why CDEX, Inc. has developed a new device that helps detect the presence of methamphetamine.
CDEX is a technology company currently developing products using patented chemical detection technologies focused on identifying substances like explosives, compounded medication and illegal drugs. The company’s products includes ValiMed™, a medication validation system that has found a home in many of the nation’s top rated hospitals, and the Meth Scanner™, which has been getting a lot of attention in the news recently.
The Meth Scanner is a handheld, battery operated device that detects low nano-gram range quantities of methamphetamine in a continuous scan mode from standoff distances of around 2-8 inches. The Meth Scanner gives instantaneous results without disturbing the surfaces under investigation. In recent use, the scanner correctly identified 32 different samples of methamphetamine in clear containers in four different law enforcement jurisdictions with no errors. In a separate sensitivity test, the Meth Scanner identified methamphetamine at 1.0 micrograms/100 cm2, below the proposed California health-based methamphetamine remediation standard of 1.5 micrograms/100cm2.
The company believes that this new product will produce significant revenue because the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) estimates that 5.77% of the US population aged 12 or older has used methamphetamine at least once. That is an estimated 731,000 current users, and 259,000 recent or new users of methamphetamine during 2006 alone. The National Drug Intelligence Center also reported that, during 2006, there were 5,395 federal defendants sentenced for methamphetamine-related charges in US courts. Approximately 98% of the cases involved methamphetamine trafficking.
Potential markets for the Meth Scanner include law enforcement, school systems, property inspection healthcare systems and private investigation firms. The company is hoping this new product will add significantly to its previously generated revenue from sales of ValiMed™, which was $183,096 and $21,635 during the three months ended January 31, 2008 and January 31, 2007, respectively.
Hopefully this product will prove successful in a market where it is really needed. Decreased domestic methamphetamine production is reducing wholesale supplies of domestically produced methamphetamine. The decreased production is a result of law enforcement pressure, public awareness campaigns, and increased regulation of the sale and use of precursor and essential chemicals used in methamphetamine production. However, decreases in domestic methamphetamine production have been offset by increased production in Mexico, so introduction and international expansion of its Meth Scanner can prove successful for CEDX. In the first quarter of 2008, CDEX announced a series of initiatives involving international expansion by hiring a vice-president of International Sales and Marketing located in France, and representatives in the United Kingdom. Hopefully Mexico will follow.
CEDX is already in the production cycle for the first 200 Meth Scanners and expects to deliver the first batch of Scanners to waiting clients during the 2nd quarter of this year. There has been considerable interest from other, global locations where methamphetamine is also a problem. Where there is a problem, there is always a need for a solution and CEDX’s Meth Scanner may just be the product.
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